There is a limit of 128 strongholds per world (1 (1-3 on superflat worlds) per world in Legacy Console Edition).

All strongholds are located at random positions within rings, each ring with a certain radius from the origin – the point at x = 0, z = 0, not the world spawn, which may be a couple of hundred blocks away. Strongholds also may extend further in or out of that area. The strongholds are generated at roughly equal angles from the center point of the world (for instance, each stronghold in a ring of 3 is in the region of 120 degrees from the others, measured from the origin). The game will not generate a stronghold partially above-ground: any portion above the ground layer will be replaced with air blocks, leaving a cutaway. Strongholds may generate at bedrock level, cutting the bedrock[verify].

In Bedrock Edition, 3 strongholds generate within a ring of radius between 640 and 1152 blocks. Other strongholds will generate randomly throughout the world.

In Java Edition, they generate in rings with the strongholds evenly spaced around the circle until the total of 128 is reached.

Strongholds primarily generate underground, and prefer to generate in biomes above sea level but will generate underwater if necessary. Whole rooms can be flooded if the stronghold is intersected by a mineshaft or ravine. Sometimes, floating portal rooms can be found in the ocean, where no other room can generate.
In Bedrock Edition they also attempt to generate under village wells or meeting points.‌[upcoming:BE 1.10].
Most parts of the stronghold can be overwritten by ravines, caves, abandoned mineshafts or dungeons; but it is very rare that the end portal is replaced, which would force a player to find one of the other strongholds.

Strongholds feature various types of main rooms. Each room has an entrance, which is either a plain 3×3 opening, a wall with a wooden door, a wall with an iron door (with buttons‌[JE& LCE only]), or a 3×3 opening with a grate of iron bars leaving a 1×2 opening, and may have exits to other room pieces or dead-end "exits" into stone. Additional "passages" between rooms may exist if their generation overlaps or if the stronghold intersects a cave, mineshaft, or other structure.

Stronghold generation begins with a spiral staircase room with a 5-way crossing at the bottom, with additional rooms being randomly generated from the exits of previous rooms up to a maximum distance of 50 rooms and 112 blocks horizontally. If a portal room is not generated, generation is redone.

End portal room: Contains an End portal and a silverfishspawner. There are two pools of lava in the front sides of the room and a bigger lava pool below the End Portal. There are 16 iron bars windows in the room, and the entrance is always a gate. One per stronghold, and never within 5 rooms of the starting staircase. On average, 0-3 Eye of Ender generates in the portal frames, and very, very rarely generates completely filled. Each portal frame has a 10% chance to be prefilled with an Eye, thus the chance of the portal being completely filled is one in a trillion (10-12).

Libraries (see below). Maximum two per stronghold, and never within 4 rooms of the starting staircase.

Large rooms: A room with three exits (four counting the entrance). The center of the room may have various decorations. Maximum six per stronghold.

Empty rooms: Has no decoration.

Stone Pillar rooms: Has a stone brick pillar with torches on it.

Fountain rooms: Contain a fountain in the center, which consists of a stone brick ring and pillar with a water source block on top of the pillar.

Store rooms: Dual-level rooms, each 2 blocks high, with a cobblestone center structure joining the two. A lone torch is housed within the structure. A ladder runs up the side wall for access to the second floor, which is made of wood planks and contains a chest.

Five-way crossing: Has up to five exits (six counting the entrance): one across from the entrance down a short stairway made of stone slabs and stone brick blocks, one each to the left and right of the entrance, one on the left side of the upper level reached by a short stairway made of stone slabs and stone brick blocks, and one on the right side of the upper level across a bridge of stone slabs and double stone slabs over the downward stair. A single torch is on the side of the bridge.

In Bedrock Edition the 4 entrance of side, (both right and left and upper side) usually has 1 to 4 entrance sealed.
Maximum five per stronghold.

Empty prison cells: A corridor with one wall partially made of iron bars and with two iron doors (in an "open" position, with no buttons). Beyond each iron door are cells with an iron bar wall between them. An exit is opposite the entrance. Maximum five per stronghold. In Bedrock Edition, no iron doors will be generated.

Spiral staircase: A 3×3 spiral stair made of stone brick blocks and stone slabs, leading down, with an exit at the bottom. Maximum six per stronghold.

Straight staircase: A 3 block wide staircase of cobblestone stairs leading downwards, with an exit at the bottom of the stairs. There is also an empty alcove under the stairs. Maximum five per stronghold.

Corridor: A bare corridor with up to 3 exits: one straight ahead, and optional exits to the left and right.

Chest corridor: A corridor with a small altar made of stone brick slabs, with a chest on the altar. One exit, opposite the entrance. Maximum four per stronghold.

Corridor turn: A bare corridor with one exit, left or right. May resemble a small room if both the entrance and the next room's entrance have doors.

Dead-end corridor: A bare corridor with no exits, although it is likely to intersect other rooms. This room type never has a door or grate at the entrance.

Large libraries contain a second level consisting of a surrounding balcony with fences as railings, and fences/torches arranged in a chandelier formation over the center of the room. The two levels are connected by ladders on the wall furthest from the entrance.

Chests are found on the corner of one bookshelf in each library, with an additional chest in the corner of the top floor in duplex libraries.

A pair of glass towers indicated the location of a stronghold's start (aka Main entrance) and second for the portal room on top of them, extending from the top of the map to the stone bricks. This was because Jeb forgot to remove the debug towers.[1]

There are exactly 233 bookshelves in one large Library Room, which, if mined with a non-Silk Touch axe, will yield exactly 699 books.

Though Strongholds do not generate above ground, they can be exposed through above ground dungeons or ravines.

The only variant of infested block that can naturally generate within strongholds are regular stone bricks. Interestingly, mossy and cracked variants cannot generate as infested blocks naturally.

On Bedrock Edition, letting a silverfish enter any stone brick variants will turn these blocks into infested stone instead of the corresponding infested block. This can also happen on igloos with basement.

Because of this, infested stone can also be found outside mountains biome in this version.

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